Skype petitions FCC for open cellular access

Skype petitioned the Federal Communications Comission earlier this week to force U.S. mobile operators to loosen controls on what kinds of hardware and software can be connected to their networks. It is known as the "Carterfone" rules, which allows consumers to use devices and software of their choice on cell phone networks.

Skype has been the outbreak of what the consumers have been waiting for. For all last year, Skype has been giving all the members free phone calls among U.S. phone lines and other Skype users all over the world. Imagine the life with free phone calls all around the world on the internet. In other words, whoever has the internet connection anywhere in the world can make a phone call with a touch of a button and and a microphone. And now it wants the users who access the Internet via mobile device to be able to use their software and services, too.

This has also helped to spur new innovations, such as the fax machine and Internet modem. In more recent times, the principle has been extended to other communication networks, such as cable modem and DSL. This has also paved way for companies such as Linksys to sell wireless routers. Couple of years ago, Skype has only been a small breakthrough from the people who came up with kazaa, hoping to get the people in the world free phone calls all around the globe. And now, by opening a cellular access, it has helped a lot of other companies also.

Now it seems like the cellphone ages are over. Already consumers with smart phone running Windows Mobile can download the Skype client, even if the operator forbids it. With Skype, people can call other phone lines much cheaper and with much ease.

Mike

Sources:

Skype petitions FCC for open cellular access
PUBLISHED: February 22, 2007
Skype petitions FCC for open cellular access

Korea Deregulates Online Election Campaigning

Regulating Election Campaigns in Cyberspace

The Korean National Election Commission (NEC) announced yesterday that it will revise its election law so that any campaign - related materials about particular candidates can be freely uploaded on the internet both in legal campaign periods and odd times.

Last election in United States, we have had the closest election result in history, and lots of people spoke up on how we should adapt to a new voting system, or come up with the more precise voting way so that more people could get involved in voting. In Florida, there was a flaw in one of the election system, so it brought out much voices in the country. Some people actually suggested in online voting since many people are committed to lots of things online.

People nowadays shop online, pay bills online, and even have their business meeting though online. From the facts, now more than 50 percent of people that own computers at home in United States have internet also. However, about 2 weeks ago, I posted a blog about security technologies on internet. Can we trust online election? and even online election campaigning?

Currently, postings or video clips containing simple ideas about particular candidates or parties are allowed online prior to the campaign period, and those considered to be attempts to influence elections through repeated postings on portal sites could face punishment. However, my question is this? Can they really regulate those attempts influence elections through repeated postings on portal sites? Can they stop the malicious sites that imitate those campaigning sites and try to bring down the candidates?

I believe that things that are very important as voting should be never done online. Professors want hard copies of homeworks for a reason. People trust the newspaper more than online articles for a reason. We just can't trust some stuff online. Especially, something like election could change the whole state of one country. Can we trust the internet sites to do the job for us? to replace the paper voting? However, I believe that online election campaigning is okay as long as campaign associates know the maliciousness of the internet.

An NEC official said, "we made the decision because we believe voters' freedom of expression should be broadly guaranteed and internet campaigns do not cost much." This is true. It will save tons of money for the campaign committee, and some people could be more influenced by the internet ads and campaigns rather than reading from the newspapers. This should be allowable as long as they know the consequences of posting and putting themselves online.


Mike


Sources:

Regulating Election Campaigns in Cyberspace
PUBLISHED: February 14, 2007
http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?bicode=050000&biid=2007021452078

RIM, Samsung settle lawsuit over BlackJack

Research in Motion (RIM) and Samsung Electronics have settled a lawsuit in which RIM alleged the South Korean company, Samsung, on its well-known BlackBerry trademark with its competing BlackJack smart phone.

After lots of these same lawsuits for trademarks, I have realized that the well-known rule "first come first served" applies here as well. However, I am not sure how that rule complies in this case, but RIM sued Samsung anyways for infringing its BlackBerry trademark. Clearly, BlackJack is a better version of the smart phone, and both have the name "Black" in it, but I am not sure why RIM sued Samsung for its trademark.

Also I cannot believe that Samsung agreed to limit the use of the BlackJack trademark and the withdrawal of the trademark application for BlackJack. BlackJack is clearly another word than BlackBerry. It is true that they look similar, but Samsung agreeing to these terms is just absurd in my opinion.

I have wanted to get BlackBerry ever since it first came out. Its look was breath-taking, and the fact that it's a smart phone and slim to the bone, just made me want to get this phone as soon as possible. As I was considering the phone, I wasn't even aware of that fact that it could be infringed with BlackBerry. The original lawsuit was that Samsung was "misleading the public into falsely believing that Samsung's goods and services are connected with RIM's business." As one of the cellphone user myself, I was no where close to the fact that BlackJack could be connected to BlackBerry.

At the end of the settlement, Samsung added that "we will continue selling the BlackJack by that name" (of course they should do that) , "and the rest of the terms of the settlement are confidential." Also RIM had said that Samsung's blackJack was very similar with RIM's latest phone BlackBerry Pearl.

I believe that RiM was just scared of the fact that Samsung's BlackJack could sweep the market since Apple's iPhone's coming out also in few months. I guess Samsung had learned its lesson, and we should all learn as well. When coming up with the new product, try to stay far away as possible when it comes to name, look, and even what it can do (?).

Mike

Sources:

RIM, Samsung settle lawsuit over BlackJack
PUBLISHED: February 8, 2007
http://news.com.com/2100-1041_3-6157520.html

Technology's biggest challenge is keeping data secure

Gates says technology's biggest challenge is keeping data secure

Over the summer of 2006, I have been an intern at the PRIMS Lab in UMass. I have researched about computer security over the networks and through the RFID cards with a graduate student and a professor. I have realized there are much fields about the security than I realized. There were so much things to learn about the security and data mining, and the world live in is just fully of security breaches and people who are trying to hack into other systems or steal other people's identities.

In San Francisco, Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates said that keeping information secure in this age of laptop-lugging workers is the tech industry's most formidable challenge. Everyday programmers build the bigger and bigger fortress walls - to protect the corporate secrete data. In that conference, Gates repeated that Windows Vista, which was launched last month, was the most secure operating system in the company's history.

I have learned, through doing that internship, nothing is secure and safe. People are constantly trying to break the security, and also other people are trying to keep those people from getting into the system. Gates knows and told in the conference that there is no software out there which is immune to attacks from the third-party software.

As more technologies advance in the world, technologies in breaking the security will also advance as well. Advancing technologies is not making the software comfortable to use for the users nor making everything work, but now it became to keep everything secure and safe. As we learned in the lecture today, there are not much laws about computer security. I have applied to different computer science graduate schools, and this is why I want to pursue my
goals in researching about data mining and security in the web.


Mike Ro




Sources:

Gates says technology's biggest challenge is keeping data secure
POSTED: Tue, Feb. 06, 2007
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/internet/01/17/china.internet.addicts.reut/index.html

2 Million teens addicted on Web in China

My cousin in Korea had called me on the internet couple of months ago. He told me that he has gotten a free account on the internet-calling website and were able to call me free from the internet. Yes, my cousin's only 11 years old. My aunt also tells me that he is on the computer most of the day, and he constantly updates his blog and his website almost everyday.

Then, I came across this article on CNN. It is said that in China, of 18.3 million teen Internet users, more than 2 million were addicts of the Internet; most addicts are male, between 15 and 20 years old; and many addicted teens need "urgent help."

There are lots of addictions in the world. Lots of teens in the world are addicted to video games, computer games, drugs, and alcohol, and some DO need some urgent help. Gao blamed a lack of diversions at schools, forcing addicts into often illegal Internet cafes and exposing them to crime and violence. Also last week, it is showed that China had seen a 68 percent rise in juvenile crime in five years and that figure was going to rise. Pirated DVDs, including violent and adult material, are available on every street corner and computer and online gaming has said to explode in China in recent years.

So how is the government going to handle this matter?
They aim to issue a raft of regulations aimed at curbing excessive game-playing at Internet cafes and heavily fining owners that admit minors. I'm not sure if that's going to fix or even do anything to fix this matter. I once heard from one of my computer science professor that over 60 percent of people who control the cyberspace are teens aged from 10 to 20 who sit in their basement, playing with computers all day.

Even if the government regulate the rules on the internet, kids are always going to find a way to get around the rules. Therefore, I believe that we need to put the parental control on all the computers. How can the parents let their children play with computers all day long? I'm a computer science major, and I am not saying that playing with computers are bad and time-wasting. However, when exposed to computer in early ages, it could be a dangerous habit. Only way to stop this is for us talk to the parents of these children, and have them to regulate their children better.

I do believe this is a big matter. Would you want your kids to wander around the street corners and let them talk to whoever they want? Would you want your kids to be exposed to all the violent images and videos? However, this is not kind of matter that we can fix by talking to the children. I'd say that parents have to talk to children themselves and control their children well.

Mikey Ro




Sources:

China: 2 million teens hooked on Web
POSTED: 12:05 p.m. EST, January 17, 2007
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/internet/01/17/china.internet.addicts.reut/index.html